How To Lower Or Get Rid Of Stress

No matter what you do and who you are, it is very possible that you could suffer from stress. It is not difficult to recognize the signs especially if you know what to look for. Perhaps you have felt angry at traffic even though it is moving along. Maybe you felt angry at a person asking you for a cigarette. Those little things when you seem to snap at anything that happens are signs that something is wrong. In the worse cases you could let it affect your work or family life and that is when you need to find ways to reduce stress.

First Find The Source

Most people feel that they will need to make appointments with a psychologist or psychiatrist to find the reason for their high levels of stress, but in reality you could already know the answer. Keep in mind that the easy and the more obvious answer sometimes is wrong as it could be the result of stress and not the cause of it. The thing that you think is causing you stress may just be piling on to the problem, but without the original cause it may not even have bother you much or at all.

Some people are in denial because they do not want to accept that they feel stressed or that the cause of their problem is something like work or family. If that is the case do not feel guilty about it. There are a few changes that you can make at home or work that will help you lower your stress levels. The one thing to understand however is that if everything remains the same, then your stress levels will not go down. Breathing techniques are a temporary solution and not a permanent one.

Make Changes

There are a lot of changes that can make some difference in the levels of stress you are experiencing. Once you have identified the source of the stress it becomes a lot easier to see what the changes that you need to make are. Some people for example bring their work home and that could be causing the problem. While taking on extra work is a good way to get noticed by superiors if you take on more than you can handle, then it is just not worth it. If you still feel that you need to take some extra work home, then make sure that the amount you take does not interfere with your personal and family life.

If the cause of the problem is your family life, then making changes is a bit trickier. You still need to be responsible to them, but you can make a change in how you do things. Make sure that responsibilities at home are given to members of your family instead of trying to do everything yourself. If you have a spouse then talk about your needs and how they could help by taking on a little more if you feel they are not. Try to have any conversations like that on a relaxed state and not while fighting as you are more likely to get things accomplished while being rational.

Do Not Keep It Inside

Keeping all of your feeling bottled in means that at one point they are going to come out and explode. You can only keep so much inside so even if you are a private person you need to talk to someone about them. If you decide to go to a therapist then that is great because they have to keep things like your feelings confidential. They are also good listeners that can help you in getting to the root of the problem and fix it.

Another choice is to talk to a friend about the issues you are having. You should only talk to true friends and people who will understand you without using what you tell them for gossiping in the future. Having someone who pretends to listen only to betray your trust later will only add to the stress, so really pick the person you will talk to. Your siblings or parents are also a great choice when you are having issues in your personal life. The important thing is that you tell someone about what is bothering because when you do it feels as if a whole weight has come off your shoulders.

Take Some “You” Time

So it is not always easy to take some time for yourself especially when you have a family, but that is when talking to your partner is very useful. It is very likely that they will understand and will want you to feel better. A good partner or spouse will be very understanding and realize that if you are having stress problems that can affect them and your relationship as well.

Make sure to do something that you like to do, that will make you happy, but that will also not get you going. Clubbing is an activity that could feel great as a stress reliever, but the problem is that you could be up very late and that will also have a negative effect on how much you rest. Drinking is also not a good choice though it may seem like it at the time.

Get Some Sleep

Sleep and rest time is a good solution to help you lower and even get rid of your stress. It is recommended that you sleep anywhere between seven to eight hours each night. If you are not getting that amount then you can easily become irritable. The other problem is that you may also consume more caffeine to wake up, and that only makes the problem worse. Take a look at how much you are sleeping and if you do not think that it is enough make a conscious effort to fall asleep earlier.

A couple of things that will help you fall asleep earlier is turning off the TV and internet one hour before bed. Having dinner early and avoiding snacking after that and clearing your mind so that you do not have anything keeping you up can help make it easier to fall asleep. Even if reading a book makes you sleepy, you should avoid it because some books can get so interesting that you will not want to put them down.